UPDATE: both lanes open Hwy. 19 south after multi-vehicle accident

One vehicle caught fire in a multi-vehicle accident on Highway 19 southbound in Nanoose Bay Thursday, March 22.

The NEWS witnessed a vehicle with heavy damage smoking off to the side of Hwy. 19 southbound by Hillview Road at about 8:30 a.m.

The Nanoose Volunteer Fire Department said in a tweet a short time later that there had been a multi-vehicle accident, and that one vehicle was on fire. At 9:05 a.m. the department announced the fire had been extinguished. In a tweet at 9:15 a.m., the fire department said both southbound lanes were open, and the accident had been cleared to the side.

Facebook user Alana Bailey claimed to be the first on the scene, and told The NEWS that “both occupants of the vehicles were OK,” with no major injuries, and that a fire extinguisher had been unsuccessfully used to try and put out what had started as minor smoke near the engine.

Nanoose Bay fire chief Doug Penny said that it appeared a truck that had been entering the highway from Hillview Road and a van travelling southbound on the highway collided. The van then caught fire in the engine compartment and the flames went on to engulf much of the vehicle.